


Dawning Connections

by Dreamsinger



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: After the kiss we didn't really get to see, F/M, He caught my eye, I really like Riff, Poppy and Barb girl talk, Poppy tries to make friends with Delta Dawn, Set During Trolls World Tour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamsinger/pseuds/Dreamsinger
Summary: What happened after Poppy and Branch's high-five? Girl talk, boyfriends, and fun, poignant deep thoughts, gentle love and healing. Set near the end of Trolls World Tour, between the scene in the Rock trolls' volcano and the party in Pop village.
Relationships: Branch/Poppy, Queen Barb/Riff (Trolls)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 66





	Dawning Connections

The two Pop trolls rose on the wind of a perfect high-five, the air alive with glitter and hearts galore.

“Now _that’s_ a good connection!” Poppy said in satisfaction.

Branch let out a laugh of pure joy, a sound she never got tired of hearing, and then her arms went around his neck and her lips were on his, pulling back a second later with a loud smack.

His fingers flew up to his lips, an adorably astonished look on his face before he relaxed, returning her shy grin with a warm, tender smile of his own.

“And that’s an even better one,” he said, taking each of her hands in his and drawing her close. She caught on, and leaned forward, puckering her lips, but just then Barb’s raucous voice yelled, “Hey, hey, look at the two lovebirds! Gettin’ hot and heavy over there, aren’t ya?”

Poppy and Branch yanked their hands away from one another, Branch half crouching as his head swung from side to side, grimacing as he looked at the gathered trolls. Poppy gave him a sheepish smile. She’d totally forgotten they had an audience.

Branch was still looking embarrassed, so she laughed and grabbed one of his hands. “We’ll have time to get romantic later. Right now, we’ve got a party to lead. And…I could use a partner,” she offered.

He relaxed. “You can count on me.”

“Always.”

-O-

The two happy Pop trolls partied without a care through several more songs until a mutual break was announced so everyone could go get snacks and take care of other needs. A while later Poppy and Branch had deposited their cardboard confection containers in a bulging trash bin, only to hear a rowdy shout.

“Hey, Pop babies!”

They turned to see Barb jogging toward them.

Poppy, on a full sugar high, greeted her in the same vein. “Hey, pipsqueak!”

Barb skidded to a stop. “What? Hey, I’m _not_ a pipsqueak. _You_ are. What’s your deal, anyway?”

Branch froze, reacting instantly to the offense in the Rock troll’s tone. “Um, Poppy-”

“Oh, Branch-” Poppy nearly reacted the way she always did when Branch tried to quell her high spirits, but then he put a hand on her arm, meeting her eyes with a slight shake of his head and looking serious, and something in her brain shifted to notice the hurt pout on Barb’s face.

She sighed. “Sorry, Barb. You know, it’s okay if you’re a little self-conscious about being short. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“What? I’m not-”

Poppy pushed on. “Trolls come in all shapes and sizes. Why, we have one troll who’s full-grown and she only comes up this high, if you don’t count her hair.” She held out her hand to Smidge’s height, about waist-high to trolls of Poppy’s height.

“Really?” Barb chuckled. “Whoa, what a pipsqueak!”

Both Branch and Poppy winced, looking around to be sure Smidge was nowhere nearby. “Uhhh, you don’t want to say anything like that around Smidge.”

“Her name is _Smidge?”_ Barb laughed incredulously.

“Smidge is one of the strongest trolls in the village. She bodybuilds and is short-tempered and reaaaally intimidating if you get on her bad side.”

“Oh.” Barb wanted to say something brash, but the looks on their faces stopped her. _Maybe I should be more careful of what I say until I know what’s really offensive to these Pop trolls. Don’t wanna get on_ their _bad side._ “Well, thanks for the head’s up.” __

 __Just then flowered watches lit up on her companions’ wrists and Poppy said cheerily, “Hug Time!”

Barb watched as the loving couple opened their arms to each other, and then gave each other knowing looks, turning to her with their arms outstretched.

“What are you doing?” Barb said uneasily.

Branch explained, “It’s a custom among us Pop trolls to hug every hour.”

As they came up to put their arms around her, Barb cringed back. “Hey, wait, don’t… Oh.”

As their body warmth soaked in and she felt their soft, cuddly bodies pressed against her, she found herself relaxing almost against her will. A smile of pure pleasure softened her sharp features and she brought her arms up to hug them back. _“Oh,_ yeah. That feels niiice.”

As the hug ended, both her new friends pulled back to smile kindly at her.

Barb eyed them, then turned to her audience of thousands. “Okay, people, listen up!” she bellowed. The audience’s noises died away. “I, Queen Barb, have decided that I _like_ these Pop trolls. They’re _nothing_ like the history says. So everybody be nice to them or you’ll answer to me!”

There was a brief silence, then the audience burst into raucous cheering.

“Thank you,” said Poppy. 

“Aw, don’t worry about it, Popsqueak,” Barb said generously. 

Poppy rolled her eyes. “Do you _have_ to call me that?”

“What? I give everybody I like nicknames. Besides, it’s cute. Just like you.” As Poppy blinked, Barb looked amused at her embarrassed consternation. 

So did Branch, grinning at her with crossed arms. “She’s got a point. You _are_ cute.”

Poppy put her hands up to cover her reddening cheeks, swinging from side to side. “Aw, thank you, Branch!” 

The mellow good humor on his face made her want to tease him back. She stepped toward him and gave him a flirty look. “So are you.”

His face went from teasing to astonished, and then his lips curled in a silly grin as he let out a high-pitched sound though his nose, a giggle of embarrassed pleasure. His eyes flickered back and forth as he put a hand up to the back of his head. “Thanks.”

As his embarrassment faded he raised his head to gaze into her eyes, and suddenly she was caught, recognizing that look. _He wants to kiss me!_

 __Her heart began to pound, but just then Barb gushed, “Aww, you two are so adorable I’m gonna puke!”

The mood broken, the two Pop trolls gave her mildly irritated looks, but Barb merely grinned at them. “So if you guys are gonna be my friends, we need to jam together. I already played some of your sappy Pop music, so whadda ya say? Think you can _rock?”_

Branch and Poppy exchanged a look. “Challenge accepted,” said Branch, grinning.

“All _right!”_

-O-

Poppy and Branch strutted their stuff, thoroughly enjoying themselves and taking every opportunity to touch one another. One of their favorite signature moves was pressing their hands together, and they did it a lot that day.

Poppy was dancing on air as she followed Barb to the girls’ bathroom an hour later. Barb ribbed her at first, but Poppy felt too elated to mind.

Then Barb gave her a candid look. “You know, I gotta say, Popsqueak, I’m really impressed by your man.”

“My man?”

Barb gave her a look. “Are you messing with me? Your _boyfriend,_ Branch? The guy who flung himself in front of the Power Chord for you? It might have killed him, for all we knew at the time. Uh, sorry about that, by the way.”

“I forgive you.”

 _Boyfriend. Who would’ve guessed it? But…it feels so right._ The pink troll felt a little smile play across her lips, wondering how soon it would be before she could be alone with her best fr…with her boyfriend, as they had been so briefly in the hot air balloon.

They really hadn’t had any time alone together lately, only that first night of their journey, when he had insisted they get some sleep right away, and then apparently landed the balloon and spent a good deal of the night collecting rocks and whittling points onto sticks to make the weapons she’d kicked overboard the next morning.

He’d been in a good mood before that, she recalled, proudly patching and wearing a captain’s hat and wings he’d found somewhere. And he’d looked really cute in them, and kind of heroic later on when he’d suddenly appeared out of nowhere to come to her rescue. She wondered what had happened to them. Maybe she could make him a new set, as a gift…

“He made an awesome Rock troll. You know, I’d give anything for a hot, caring guy like him. You’re so lucky, Poppy.” The soft use of her real name made Poppy notice Barb’s unusual earnestness.

Poppy smiled softly. “I am, aren’t I? But you know, I wouldn’t always have thought so.” Suddenly she giggled. “Even rock-zombified, that line about ‘no tattoos on our faces’ was such a Branch thing to say.”

“What do you mean?”

“Branch…likes to pride himself on being the voice of reason. It’s kind of a bummer sometimes.”

Barb shrugged. “So he’s got his head screwed on right. I can respect that.”

Poppy paused, thinking about that. “Yeah, you’re right… But you wouldn’t have thought that a year ago. He was so _different_ then.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, all gray and unhappy and… Let’s just say, it was like pulling hair to get him to say something nice. About anything.”

“Really?”

“Really. One time, he-” 

“Hey, Poppy? Are you guys done in there? They’re asking for us back on stage,” Branch called.

“Just a minute, Branch.” Quickly Poppy added, “It’s a long story. For now, suffice it to say that this isn’t the first life-or-death adventure we’ve been through together. The last one completely changed his life around. Sort of like how this one changed mine,” she added shyly.

“You guys have a history, huh? Sounds like you need to make a rock ballad out of it.”

“A rock ballad?”

“Yeah, telling a long story through song.”

“Whoa. That sounds really cool.”

“Poppyyy…” came Branch’s pleading voice.

“Okay, okay, we’re coming!”

-O-

During their next break, Poppy continued their conversation.

“Hey, Barb, I was thinking about what you said earlier, about cool guys you can respect. So, the guy with the hat, the one who asked how anyone would know if you were cool if everyone was the same, what’s his name?”

“Riff. Wait, you think _Riff_ is cool?”

“Well, yeah. He’s the one who figured out how to pull the plug on the Funk trolls, wasn’t he? He seems to be pretty smart, an independent thinker. And later, he didn’t tell you what he thought you wanted to hear, did he? He told you what he thought you _needed_ to hear. Even if you didn’t want to listen.” For a moment, her eyes dropped, but then she straightened her shoulders. “You know, in some ways, he reminds me of Branch.”

Barb blinked. _“Huh?_ Geeky ol’ Riff reminds you of _your_ cool boyfriend?”

Poppy smiled. “Oh, believe me, Branch loves to geek out over stuff, too, like building things, making daily agendas, reading comprehensive instruction manuals…” She giggled. “He and Riff should talk. I’ll bet they’ll be good friends.”

Their conversation moved on to other interests, but later on, as the girl queens passed Riff on the way back, Barb paused, eying the techie troll. She remembered what Poppy had said. _Maybe there really is a cool guy under that hat. Only one way to find out._

“Barb?” came a light soprano voice.

“Hey, Pops, you go on ahead. I’ll catch up to you in a minute.”

Pink eyes swept back and forth between Barb and the male rock troll, and a knowing smile crossed her face. “Sure. See ya.” She trotted off.

Barb turned away from her new friend to see Riff moving away from her.

“Hey, Riff, wait up, man.”

He stopped. “Yes, Queen Barb?”

“You know that stuff you said about ‘how would anyone know we’re cool’? You made a pretty good argument there. I was impressed. So, you wanna grab a cup of joe and we can chew the fat for a while?”

“Uh… Really?” Riff pushed his hat up, revealing blue eyes that were actually pretty nice-looking, reminding the Rock queen of Poppy’s totally hot boy toy. 

Riff studied her for a second, then apparently decided she wasn’t kidding. A slow, unexpectedly sweet smile spread across his face, and he nodded, letting his hat drop back into place. “Um, yeah, sure. That’d be cool.”

Barb could see he was pretending he wasn’t nervous. It was kind of cute.

She grinned. “Great! Meet you at Rockhead Diner after the concert’s over?”

He straightened up, real enthusiasm creeping into his voice. “Yeah, okay. See you then, Bar- uh, Queen Barb.”

She started to walk away, then turned back. “Just Barb is fine.”

“Okay, Barb.” Again he smiled, and something sparked inside her.

As she strolled away, looking forward to her date, the queen of Rock smiled to herself. _Maybe Popster is on to something. You know, maybe we could use a little Pop culture here after all. A different viewpoint can be useful, to see what’s right in front of your eyes._

 __Poppy watched her new friend from a distance, happy to see her making a connection of her own. She understood how important it was to have supportive people by her side.

As she focused her attention on the group in front of her, she noticed the Country troll standing on her own. _Now’s a good opportunity to connect with her, too._

 __“Queen Delta? Can I speak with you for a minute?”

The chestnut centaur troll gave her a neutral look. “Okay.”

Poppy hesitated. “Look, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot – er, hoof – um…”

Delta put her hands on her hips, or where her hips would have been if she’d been a Pop troll. Not unkindly, she asked, “Go on.” 

“I wanted to apologize for anything I’ve done that might have offended you. I truly didn’t mean anything bad, and I’d like to find some way to connect with you and your people.”

The Country queen relaxed. “Well. That’s right neighborly of you.”

Poppy racked her brain, trying to think of something positive that had occurred during their brief time in the Country trolls’ kingdom. Just then Branch came up to stand next to her, and an idea began to form.

“So! Um, my f- my boyfriend Branch likes your music.”

Poppy was tickled to see Branch’s mouth silently echo, _Boyfriend?_ She held back a giggle at his surprise, enjoying the soft look of affection that came into his eyes as he gazed at her.

Delta looked pleased. “Well, I’d say he’s got good taste.”

Encouraged, Poppy hit upon the perfect idea to build some harmony. “So I have a question to ask, if you don’t mind. Please,” Poppy sank gracefully into a kneeling position, sitting at the centaur troll’s hooves as if Poppy were a schoolchild. Branch glanced at her, then dropped down next to her himself. 

The audience noise began to die away, and the Pop troll’s high, questing voice was easily heard in the volcano chamber’s excellent acoustics.

“Could you teach me why the Country trolls sing sad songs?”

A murmur ran through the audience. “They sing… _sad_ songs?” Many trolls of many genres repeated in surprise, including King Peppy.

“They really _are_ different,” he murmured. And then he realized, _And so is she. When did my daughter become so willing to listen?_

He gazed at the young man next to her. Recalling Barb’s words about Branch being his daughter’s boyfriend and the way he had unhesitatingly thrown himself in front of the Power Chord’s blast to protect the love of his life, Peppy smiled. _Ah. He might just have something to do with it._

 __Somewhere along the way, his daughter had finally chosen the fine young troll who had become her staunchest supporter, ever since they’d bonded on their rescue mission to Bergentown. In that dark bergen pot of death, the entire village had seen the reclusive survival expert show his own true colors, as he opened up for the first time in his life and sweetly sang to the girl he clearly adored, raising her and the rest of them up from the depths of despair with a spellbindingly beautiful display of caring, sensitivity, and understanding.

A recluse no more, Branch had been doing his best to bond with Poppy and everyone else ever since, demonstrating admirable traits such as kindness, compassion, and a willingness to learn, reliability, and a surprising but welcome willingness to have fun despite his instinctive need to be the village’s defender. He was also quite thoughtful and often gave good advice to the other trolls, including Peppy’s own headstrong young daughter. Peppy had made a point to spend time with him, watching the youth learn and grow into a troll he would be proud to call his son one day.

 _And by the looks of things, that day is not far off,_ he thought contentedly. _It’s clear now that for all he’s been learning from her, she’s been learning from him as well._

As the two young Pop trolls knelt humbly at her hooves, the sorrel-haired Country queen looked surprised at the innocent entreaty on their upturned faces. For the first time, her face softened into a motherly smile.

“Y’all really _aren’t_ like your ancestors, are ya?” she said softly. “All right, then, darlins. The reason we Country trolls sing sad songs is because we believe that sharing feelings of pain and loss with others makes them easier to bear.”

 _Pain and loss._ Suddenly Poppy remembered how devastated she had felt after their fight, when she thought she’d lost Branch. How her own mournful tune had come from her lips unbidden, and how it had comforted her, just a little, to express what she was feeling instead of bottling it up or pushing it aside.

Delta Dawn explained, “Maybe you Pop trolls don’t have anything like this, but ya see, sad music, well, it helps us understand one another and feel closer to each other.”

Automatically Poppy turned to look at Branch, only to see him nodding. Plainly, Delta’s words had resonated in his heart. Already he understood them better than she did.

She smiled lovingly at Branch as he gazed off to the side, admiring the open, reflective look in his beautiful blue eyes. Those eyes had been the only part of him untouched by his colorless existence, reflecting the soul of the lonely poet who lived behind the pain and the shadows of his past.

 _Your eyes are like two pools, so deep I fear if I dive in, I might never come up for air._

_He_ was the one with the deep gaze, along with his soulful, poetic heart, finding a nonmusical way to express his own feelings, all the long years he had been gray and reclusive.

Suddenly she gasped. _Branch said he liked sad music. What if he had been able to sing about his pain? Would he have been able to recover from his grandma’s death earlier, and not spent his entire life stuck in the shadow of her loss?_

Her face crumpled and she winced at the sharp ache that passed through her heart, crouching over and pressing her hands to her chest. _Oh, Branch…_

“Poppy, what’s wrong?” The alarm in Branch’s voice brought her out of her soul-draining slide, feeling his hands on her shoulders. His concerned eyes bored into hers. “Poppy, talk to me. You’re going gray!”

“What?” She held out her hands and looked at them. They were a pale, grayish-pink. She lifted her eyes up to see that her hair was leaden and dull, a deep charcoal with only a hint of magenta.

Delta’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “What’s goin’ on?” she asked in wary concern. “What’s happenin’ to you?”

Suddenly Barb slid on her knees to a stop in front of her, bumping into Branch as she demanded with rough worry, “Hey, Popsqueak, you okay?”

Now Poppy could hear the rising tide of unease from the audience. She wanted to reassure them, but before she could gather her thoughts Barb asked her anxiously, “Are you losing your music again?”

Her loud query echoed through the volcanic chamber, and everyone hushed, waiting.

Poppy blinked. _Oh. That’s what everyone’s upset about._ They probably feared that they were all about to suffer the same fate.

It took her a moment to summon up the energy. Her head felt heavy, but she lifted her chin high, making sure her voice projected well. “No, I’m all right. I’m just…kind of sad right now.”

Barb looked relieved. “Oh, okay. I thought it was because of what I did to you.”

The trolls in the audience murmured, their general tone sympathetic. As she looked up at them, Poppy noticed colors fading here and there, particularly in the section where most of her own people gathered.

Delta turned in a bewildered, skittish circle, her hooves clopping along the hard ground. “Just _what_ is goin’ on here, young lady?”

Poppy began to get up, and both Branch and Barb were quick to support each of her arms. She watched them exchange a glance and saw their faces soften as they realized their mutual concern for her. Feeling a little better, Poppy realized that they were going to be friends.

“Thank you,” she said to them both, and they smiled at her, and each other.

“I’m sorry for worrying you all,” Poppy spoke up strongly, making sure everyone could hear her. “But I’ll be okay soon. Thank you all for your concern.”

The audience’s colors began to return, and soon everyone was chatting animatedly with their new neighbors again.

Poppy turned to face Delta. Behind her the other tribe leaders gathered, wearing matching looks of concern.

“You don’t lose your colors when you’re feeling sad?” Poppy asked her.

“No. I ain’t never heard of such a thing.”

“That’s interesting.” Branch cupped his chin. “Maybe you release all your unhappiness when you sing, so you don’t need to lose your colors.”

Delta glanced at him, then focused on the gray queen. “Okay, but, why did you get so sad? Is it because of what I said?”

“No. I was just thinking about Branch.”

“Me? Did I do something to make you sad?”

“No, it’s just, when we were growing up, I could never truly understand how you felt, so I just shrugged it off, assuming that you just had an attitude problem and just needed to lighten up to feel better. I was thoughtless, and shallow. And well, I wonder now that if we’d known that singing sad music might have helped you, could you have moved on, and lived a full, happy life instead of spending twenty years gray and unhappy?”

Hands covered mouths around her, covering gasps of shock and dismay.

“Twenty years?” King Quincy murmured. He and Queen Essence exchanged concerned glances.

Barb looked troubled. “You spent _twenty years_ feeling that awful grayness we all just went through? _Dang,_ man. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you.” Branch looked self-consciously at all the sorrowful expressions around him. “But, thanks to a certain pretty pink queen,” he straightened up and his tone rang with confidence, “I’m a lot better now. I got my true colors back. I know they’re not all that bright, but-”

“They’re beautiful.” Queen Essence swung her long neck down to make eye contact with the sturdy troll. “Don’t ever apologize for being you.”

The older queen’s words resonated deeply with Poppy and she declared strongly, “She’s right, Branch. You _are_ beautiful.”

“Thanks.” He rubbed a hand through his hair, still looking a little embarrassed at all the concern, but then he noticed something. “Well, it looks like you’re feeling better.”

Poppy held her hands in front of her, watching the rush of pink, glowing and flowing free, along with the joy in her heart. “I sure am. And you know what? I’m gonna spend the next twenty years making sure you do, too.”

He brightened, and then a sly look spread over his face. “Only twenty years?”

Poppy caught his flirty mood. “Welllll, I suppose I could be persuaded to extend our ‘music contract’.” She took her boyfriend’s hands, seeing her own happiness mirrored in his loving blue eyes. “Your colors aren’t the only things that’re beautiful, Branch.” Her tone went soft and husky. “I have the feeling we’re going to make beautiful music together.”

She leaned in to kiss his cheek, and the older trolls around them chuckled indulgently at Branch’s blush.

“Ugh, get a room, you guys,” Barb muttered.

Everyone began to laugh, even Barb.

Poppy took a moment to appreciate the full, rich sound of her boyfriend’s joyful voice before pulling him into an even more joyful hug, her heart a soaring melody rising into the blue, cloudless sky. 

**Author's Note:**

> In this fic I reference not only Trolls World Tour, but also the 2 ½ minute short on YouTube titled Trolla-palooza, where we see that Branch is willing to speak up if he thinks Poppy is treating him unfairly, and does manage to get her to listen (somewhat. She still kind of misses the mark, but he seemed satisfied with the way it all played out anyway).
> 
> I really like Riff as a character, and think that he’d make a good match for Barb, who indicated more than once that she is lonely and looking for someone she can trust to be honest with her. Riff was the only Rock troll independent/courageous enough to contradict Barb, like when she made the comment about paying him and he corrected her, saying that he was working for college credit. And since he’s in college and is obviously interested in learning, and Branch is a mechanical engineer and looked like he was really enjoying the idea of learning how to fly the balloon, I think the two of them would be great friends. Branch could use a best friend of his own, especially someone who’s never known him as Gray Branch, and I like the idea that the two of them could be fellow kings someday.


End file.
